Folding bleacher seats



Patented June 25, 1940 UNITED STATES maar PATENT OFFICE 17 Claims.

This invention relates to certain improvements in the folding bleacher seat which forms the subject-matter of my Patent No. 2,061,235, granted November 17, 1936.

In this patent, a foldable bleacher seat is shown consisting of a series of seats proper which nest one below the other upon a horizontal movement of the interlinked seat supporting members in a direction toward the wall of the building with which the bleacher is associated. The seat supporting elements, as shown in my patent, operate on rails carried by a panel which lies flat on the floor and hinged to this horizontal panel is an extension panel also having rails over which the seat supporting elements operate. When the several seat supporting elements are nested one beneath the other against the wall of the building, this extension panel is turned upward so as to form the front of a casing or housing enclosing the bleacher, this extension panel having a flap hinged thereto which extends over the top of the bleacher so as to entirely house the several seats in their nested condition. This seat construction is open to two objections, rst, it is necessary that the extension panel be pulled down to its horizontal position against the oor before any of the seats can be pulled out and the seats have to be folded all the way back against the wall before this panel can be turned upward; second, when the seats are only partially pulled out as, for instance, only the first or second seat pulled out, the persons sitting upon the seats have their feet on this panel and thus the inner surface of the panel is liable to be marred. Furthermore, when the panel is turned upward, players using the arena for games such as basketball or other like games, are very liable to strike the panel with their feet, thus injuring the panel and marring it.

Bleacher arena seats such as above described arey usually used in gymnasiums and it oftentimes occurs that it is desirable to pull out only the rst or second seat so that certain of the players may rest while the other players are working. As before described, this necessitates the lowering of the relatively long extension panel onto the floor before this rst seat or second seat can be pulled out and in the midst of the play, the players are very liable to step on this lowered panel or strike it with their feet and thus injure it.

The general object of the present invention is to do away with the housing or covering panel with the objectionable features above referred to and provide means whereby the seat boards themselves shall be caused to swing to an upwardly and rearwardly inclined position as each seat support is shifted rearward so that the seat boards will of themselves form a protective covering or housing for the bleacher and completely protect the same when the series of bleacher seats are forced inward to their fully closed position.

A further object is to permit the first seatv unit to be drawn out, if desired, leaving the remaining units in closed or folded position with the seats extending upward and rearward and constituting a back for that unit which has been drawn outward.

A still further object is to provide improved means for supporting the 'foot boards of the seats and causing those foot boards to swing upward to a vertical position beneath their corresponding seat when the units are folded or nested.

Other objects have to do with the specific construction whereby the seat boards are shifted automatically to an upwardly and rearwardly in.- clined position as the units are shifted rearward into folded position against the wall.

Other objects will appear in the course of the following description.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing wherein:

Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional view through `a bleacher or arena seat constructed in accordance with my invention, and showing the seats in expanded position;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged detailed fragmentary vertical section showing the seats expanded;

Fig. 3 is a like view to Fig. 2 but showing the seats as they are folded back adjacent each other with the seats constituting a cover or closure for the front of the structure.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary View illustrating the folded condition of the front portion of the folding seat structure viewing the same from one side of the structure.

Referring to the drawing, it will be seen that my foldable bleacher seat comprises a plurality of seat supporting units. Each seat supporting unit comprises a series of vertical seat supports l0 which are spaced apart longitudinally of the structure or in the direction of the length of the seats and, therefore, while each unit consists of a series of supports I0, only one such support for each unit is shown. These units are movable in a horizontal direction toward or from the wall and a single seat supporting unit Il which is fixed to the wall and to the floorin any desired manner. The seat supports of the unit Il, it 55 Til will be understood are immovable while the seat supports I0 are shiftable in a horizontal plane toward or from the seat supports il. Tracks may be provided for the rollers i2 but I do not regard tracks as necessary or advisable. At its upper end, each support il or IG carries upon it a forwardly extending bracket i3 upon which the seats are mounted, as will be later stated. The lower ends of the seat supports l@ are connected to each other by the links Iii and I5, these links being pivoted to each other at i6 and being pivoted to the lower ends of the seat supports Iii. The rearmost series of seat supports IS are linked in the same manner to the lower ends of the seat supports Il.

Extending rearward from each support Iii intermediate its length is a bracket il having an upwardly extending lug or portion l and pivoted to each of these lugs is a loot board supporting bar I9 which at its rear end or free end carries the transversely extending lug or pin 2). Pivoted to the middle of each bar ES is a downwardly7 extending link 2I which at its lower end is pivoted to the adjacent ends of the links i4 and l5. Pivoted to each of the seat supporting members I and Il is a link 22 which., when the seats are drawn out, extends upward and forward and is pivotcd to the bar i9 by the pivot pin 23, which pivots the link 2l to the bar i9. The rear end of the link 22 is provided with an upstanding portion 24 over which the lug 25J extends when the bleacher is expanded and the seats and foot boards are in a horizontal position. Thus when the seats and foot boards are in a horizontal position, the bar I9 is supported at its forward end on the corresponding lug I8 and at its rear end on the upstanding portion 2i! of link 22. Mounted upon these bars i9 are the foot boards 25 and adapted to be supported upon the brackets I3 are the seat boards 26.

It will be seen from Fig. l, that the seat boards are disposed in successively lower planes from the rear to the front of the bleacher when the bleacher is expanded. and that the foot boards are also disposed in successively lower planes and that each seat board has a foot board in front of it. All of the seat boards 25 are mounted upon supporting bars 2l and each of the brackets I3 has a bar 2l pivoted to the forward end thereof as at 28, so that these seat boards may swing upward from the full line position in Fig. 2, to the full line position in. Fig. 3. The rst seat or lowest seat of all is not supported upon a single upright such as the series of uprights I0, but upon uprights ID, corresponding to the members IS, and uprights 2H which are connected to the members Illa by horizontal braces 29. Below these braces 29 there are provided links 3D which are connected to the lower ends of the vertical members Illn and 28', these links 33 carrying at their forward ends the forwardmost rollers I2 and at their rear ends being pivoted to the links I5 which in turn, arcpivoted to the links I4 in turn pivoted to the first of the vertical members !3. he bars i9 which support the iirst board 25 are pivotally mounted upon the rear ends of the braces 29. These bars I9' are extended rearwardly beyond the upper end of the vertical link 2l which is joined to the links I4 and l5', as shown, and the bars IS have terminal stops I9a corresponding with the lugs 20, to engage the top of the link 22 corresponding with the links 22. A riser board 3l is hinged at its upper end to a rigid transverse vertical board 3|a so that the riser board may be turned down against the oor or swung upward to a horizontal position for cleaning beneath. the seats when they are folded back against the wall. The lowermost seat 25 is supported by a supportingr bar 2l pivoted to the vertical supports 23 so that the seat may be swung upward to an inclined position or swung downward to a horizontal position.

The seat supported by the members I3 of the vertical supports I! is not movable but is .rigidly attached to these members I3 at all times but the seat boards of all the other series of vertical members lil are shiftable from a horizontal position to an upwardly and rearwardly inclined position as the bleacher seat is folded by means which will be now described.

Pivoted at its upper end to the underlacc of each seat 2E, except the lowermost seat 2G, is a curved rod 32. This rod carries upon it the stop 33. Mounted adjacent the free end of each supporting bar I9 is a pin 34 having an aperture through which the rod 32 loosely passes. The lower end of the rod 32 carries upon it a stop as, for instance, a nut 35.

In the operation of this connection, when the seat supports I0 and Iiia are shifted rearward, the links 22 and 22 swing upward on their pivotal connection to the vertical members 9 and this swings the supports I9 and lil upward and forward. The pins 34 are free to rotate and as the o members I9 and i9 swing upward, the pins 34 slide over the rod 32 until the pin meets the stop 33y The further upward movement of the free ends of bars I9 acts to shift the rod 32 up ward and slightly forward causing the seats to be shifted from a horizontal position to the upwardly and rearwardly inclined position, and thus when all of the seats have been moved rearward and nested in the manner shown in Fig. 3 the foot boards will be in a vertical position against the next adjacent rearward supports Ill and the seat boards will be canted to an upwardly and rearwardly inclined position, the seat boards forming a practically unbroken closure for the front of the bleacher, the seat board next to the uppermost seat board alining at its upper edge with the uppermost seat board, this uppermost seat board in turn forming a cover for the top of the bleacher. It will be seen, of course, that as the bleacher seats are shifted rearward and the forward ends of the links 22 rise, that the vertical links 2I and 2I will be lifted, causing the folding up of the links I 4 Ill' and I5 l5. Thus it will be seen that the bleacher may be folded into a very compact space and f5 when so folded, is entirely protected by the scat boards and the foot board 3|. It will be seen that with this construction the first seat may be pulled out and that as it is pulled out, the corresponding seat board will drop to a horizontal position, the remaining seat boards rcmaining in their upwardly and rearwardly inclined position so as to constitute a back ior the first seat of the series. It will be particularly noted that the links I4 and I5 are never brought into a horizontal position of alinernent but are always upwardly inclined so that immediately upon a rearward movement of the several seats of the bleacher, these links I4 and E5 will push upward on the vertical links 2I, thus assisting ,in the upward movement of the links 22 and supporting bars I9. Springs may be used, if desired, to aid in retracting the seats to a closed position but these springs are not essential as the bleacher may be readily folded without the ing out purposes when the bleacher is folded.

While I have illustrated certain details of construction and a certain arrangement of parts which I have found to be particularly effective, I do not wish to be limited to these details as it is obvious these details may be changed in many ways without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A seating structure, comprising a plurality of seats, supports for the seats adapted to be rectilinearly movable toward and from each other, connections between said seats and supports constructed and arranged to cause the seats when moved in a direction away from each other to assume a stepped formation, said means, upon a reverse movement of the seats towards each other, causing the seats to be brought into edge position and form a closed front for the structure.

2. A seating structure, including a plurality of seats, supporting means for said seats adapted for rectilinear movement and constructed and arranged to cause the seats, when the supporting means is moved rectilinearly in one direction, to be drawn out into stepped formation, and means constructed and arranged to cause the seats to assume an inclined position edge to edge to form a front closure for the structure when the supporting means is moved rectilinearly in the other direction.

3. A seating structure, including a plurality of seats, connections between said seats constructed and arranged to cause the seats, when moved in one direction, to be drawn out into stepped formation one above the other, and means constructed and arranged to cause the seats, when moved in the reverse direction, to assume a tilted position one above the other to form a front closure for the structure, the first-named means permitting a lower seat to be moved to a horizontal operative position without disturbing the tilted positions of the seats above it.

4. A seating structure, including a plurality of supporting members and seats carried thereby, the supporting members being shiftable on a horizontal supporting plane from a contracted position to an expanded position with the seats disposed in stepped formation, and means constructed and arranged to tilt the seats to an inclined edge to edge position automatically upon a movement of the supporting members to a contracted position whereby said seats form a front closure for the structure.

5. A seating structure, including a plurality of series of vertical supporting members, each series being shorter than the series behind, a longitudinally extending seat pivotally mounted on each series of supports, all of the supports except the tallest being movable rectilinearly toward or from the tallest support and at all times operatively engaging a supporting surface at their lower ends, operative connections between one series of supports and the next adjacent series of supports constructed and arranged to swing into planes approximately coincident with the plane ofthe next -adjacent rearward series of supports, and means constructed and arranged to automatically shift the pivoted seats to a horizontal position when the supporting elementsy are shifted away from eachother and into an upwardly inclined 'edge to edge position with the seats disposed in the same plane when the supporting ele ments are shifted towards each other and into fully contracted position.

6. A seating structure, including a plurality of series of upright supports, each series being shorter than the series behind, a longitudinally extending seat hingedly mounted on each series of supports, all of the supports except the tallest being movable rectilinearly toward or from the tallest support and at all times operatively engaging a supporting surface at their lower ends, operative connections between each series of seat supports vand the next adjacent 'rearward seat supports and swingable into approximately vertical planes as the seat supports are forced towards each other, and means connected to each seat and to the operative connections between the corresponding seat supports and the next adjacent seat supports constructed and arranged to automatically shift the seats into an upwardly and rearwardly inclined plane and with the seats in an edge to edge position as the seat supports are shifted towards each other and into fully contracted position.

7. A seating structure, including a plurality of series of upright supports, each series being shorter than the series immediately behind, each series of supports having a forwardly extending bracket at its upper end, a seat board operative-I ly pivoted to the forward end of said bracket whereby the seat board may be tilted from a horizontal tofan upwardly and rearwardly inclined position, operative connections between each series of seat supports and the next adjacent rearward series, and means constructed and arranged to cause the tilting of the seat boards into an upwardly inclined position as the seat` supports are shifted towards each other to cause the seat boards to take an edge to edge position and form a front closure for the structure.

8. A seating structure, including a plurality of series of upright supports, each series being shorter than the series behind, a longitudinally extending seat mounted on each series of supports, all of the supports exceptl the tallest being movable rectilinearly toward or from the tallest support and at all times operatively engaging a supporting surface at their lower ends, foot boards disposed between the seat supports and operatively hinged thereto and movable from a horizontal to a vertical position and operative connections between each series of seat supports and the series immediately behind autornefimi" causing thetilting of the foot boards from a horizontal to a vertical position upon the rearward movement of the seat supports toward the rearmost seat supports, and means constructed and arranged to automatically shift each seat from a horizontal to an upwardly and rearwardly inclined position upon a rearward movement of the seat supports, said seats, when the seat supports are fully contracted, having an edge to edge relation to thereby cause the seats to constitute a front closure for the structure.

9. A seating structure, including a plurality of series of upright seat supports, each series being shorter than the series behind, seats loper-- atively hinged upon the supports for` swinging movement from a horizontalA position to an upwardly and rearwardly inclined position, a plurality of foot boards disposed each rbetween two series of seat supports, means pivoted to each forward seat support and extending rearward and supporting the next adjacent rearward foot board, links pivoted to each series of upright supports and extending forward therefrom and pivoted to the corresponding foot board support, vertical members extending downward fronL t pivotal connection between the links and the corresponding foot board supports, and links pivoted to the lower ends of each series of Vertical supports disposed in angular relation to each other when the series ol supports are fully expanded, said links being pivotally connected to the vertical links.

l0. A seating structure, including a plurality7 of series of upright supports, each series' being shorter than the series behind, a longitudinally extending seat mounted on each series of supports, all of the supports except the tallest being movable rcctilinearly toward or from the tallest support and at all times operatively engaging a supporting surface at their lower ends, each series of seat supports except the tallest having a foot board supporting bar pivoted thereto and extending rearward therefrom, foot boards mounted upon said supporting bars, links pivoted to the vertical supports of each series except the shortest series of vertical supports extending forward therefrom and pivoted to said foot board supports, certain ones of said links having an upwardly extending portion, each foot board support adjacent to the said certain ones of the links having an angular portion engaging over and resting on the top of the said upwardly extending portion oi' the corresponding lilik, and means for automatically moving the foot board supports upward and the links upward into vertical planes as each series of seat supports is moved rearward toward the next adjacent series of seat supports.

1l. A seating structure, including a plurality of series of upright supports, each series being shorter than. the series behind, a longitudinally extending seat mounted on each series of supports, all of the supports except the tallest being movable rectilinearly toward or from the tallest support and at all times operatively engaging a supporting surface at their lower ends, each series of seat supports except the tallest having a foot board supporting bar pivoted thereto and extending rearward therefrom, foot boards mounted upon said supporting bars, links pivoted to the vertical supports of each series except the shortest series of vertical supports extending forward therefrom and pivoted to said foot board supports, certain ones of said links having an upwardly extending portion, each foot board support adjacent to the said certain ones of the links having an angular portion engaging over and resting on the top of the said upwardly extending portion of the corresponding link, other links pivoted `to each other and at their outer ends pivoted to adjacent seat supports, the said other links normally extending upward at an obtuse angle to each other when the seat supports are drawn fully away from each other, and vertical links pivoted to the said other links and at their upper ends pivoted to the foot board supports.

l2. A seating structure of the character described, including a plurality of seats, means supporting said seats constructed and arranged to cause 'theseats to occupy a position with the seats disposed in stepped formation and in longi tudinally spaced relation when the seating structure is expanded, and means constructed and arranged to cause the seats to tilt upwardly and rearwardly in an edge to edge position upon the movement of the supporting structure to a contracted position whereby said seats in the contracted position of the structure will form a front closure for the seating structure.

13. A seating structure, including a plurality of series of upright seat supports, each series being shorter than the series behind, seats operatively hinged upon the supports for swinging movement from a horizontal position to an upwardly and rearwardly inclined position, a plurality of foot boards disposed each between two series of seat supports, means pivoted to each forward seat support and extending rearward and supporting the next adjacent rear foot board, links pivoted to each rear series of upright supports and extending forward therefrom and pivoted to the corresponding foot board support and operating rods each operatively pivoted at its upper end to the rear free edge of a seat board and slidingly engaging with the corresponding rstnamed links, and means limiting the sliding movement of the rods with relation to said firstnamed links.

14, A seating structure, including a plurality of series of upright seat supports, each series being shorter than the series behind, seats operatively hinged upon the supports for swinging movement from a horizontal position to an upwardly and rearwardly inclined position, a plurality of foot boards disposed each between two series of seat supports, means pivoted to each forward seat support and extending rearward and supporting the next adjacent rear foot board, links pivoted to each rear series of upright supports and extending forward therefrom and pivoted to the corresponding foot board support, and operating rods each operatively pivoted at its upper end to the rear free edge of a seat board and slidingly engaging with the corresponding rst-named links, the rods being so constructed and arranged as to cause the lowering of the seats to a horizontal position when the links are in a horizontal position and cause the raising of the seats to an upwardly and rearwardly inclined position when the links are disposed in a vertical plane.

l5. A foldable stand comprising a plurality of vertically disposed seat supporting units, pairs of pivotally connected lings connecting said units together, each unit including upright members, horizontal extensions xed to the upper ends of said upright members, a seat board for each unit, means pivotally securing a seat board to an extension, and means connecting said latter means with certain of said links whereby to tilt said seat board upon collapsing of the stand and thereby dispose a seat board of one unit in substantially edge abutting relation to the seat boards of adjacent units.

16. A foldable stand comprising a plurality of vertically disposed seat supporting units, each unit including upright members, a horizontal extension on the upper end of each upright member, a seat board for each unit, means pivotally securing a seat board to an extension adjacent the forward end of the extension, a linkage con necting the units together, and means engaging said linkage and said seat pivot means whereby to dispose said seat boards at an angle tothe means whereby .to tilt said seat boards aty an angle to the horizontal, an edge of a preceding seat board being disposed closely adjacent an edge of `a succeeding seat board when the stand is collapsed, said seat boards, `when in collapsed position, being disposedin substantially the same inclined plane.

PAUL E. HORN, 

